Polysaccharides are large carbohydrate molecules comprising from about 25 sugar units to thousands of sugar units. Oligosaccharides are smaller carbohydrate molecules comprising less than about 25 sugar units. Animals, plants, fungi and bacteria produce an enormous variety of polysaccharide structures that are involved in numerous important biological functions such as structural elements, energy storage, and cellular interaction mediation. Often, the polysaccharide's biological function is due to the interaction of the polysaccharide with proteins such as receptors and growth factors. The glycosaminoglycan class of polysaccharides and oligosaccharides, which includes heparin, chondroitin, dermatan, keratan, and hyaluronic acid, plays major roles in determining cellular behavior (e.g., migration, adhesion) as well as the rate of cell proliferation in mammals. These polysaccharides and oligosaccharides are, therefore, essential for the correct formation and maintenance of the organs of the human body.
Several species of pathogenic bacteria and fungi also take advantage of the polysaccharide's role in cellular communication. These pathogenic microbes form polysaccharide surface coatings or capsules that are identical or chemically similar to host molecules. For instance, Group A & C Streptococcus and Type A Pasteurella multocida produce authentic hyaluronic acid capsules, and other Pasteurella multocida (Type F and D) and pathogenic Escherichia coli (K4 and K5) are known to make capsules composed of polymers very similar to chondroitin and heparin. The pathogenic microbes form the polysaccharide surface coatings or capsules because such a coating is nonimmunogenic and protects the bacteria from host defenses, thereby providing the equivalent of molecular camouflage.
Enzymes alternatively called synthases, synthetases, or transferases, catalyze the polymerization of polysaccharides found in living organisms. Many of the known enzymes also polymerize activated sugar nucleotides. The most prevalent sugar donors contain UDP, but ADP, GDP, and CMP are also used depending on (1) the particular sugar to be transferred and (2) the organism. Many types of polysaccharides are found at, or outside of, the cell surface. Accordingly, most of the synthase activity is typically associated with either the plasma membrane on the cell periphery or the Golgi apparatus membranes that are involved in secretion. In general, these membrane-bound synthase proteins are difficult to manipulate by typical procedures, and only a few enzymes have been identified after biochemical purification.
A larger number of synthases have been cloned and sequenced at the nucleotide level using reverse genetic approaches in which the gene or the complementary DNA (cDNA) was obtained before the protein was characterized. Despite this sequence information, the molecular details concerning the three-dimensional native structures, the active sites, and the mechanisms of catalytic action of the polysaccharide synthases, in general, are very limited or absent. For example, the catalytic mechanism for glycogen synthesis is not yet known in detail even though the enzyme was discovered decades ago. In another example, it is still a matter of debate whether most of the enzymes that produce heteropolysaccharides utilize one UDP-sugar binding site to transfer both precursors, or alternatively, if there exists two dedicated regions for each substrate.
As stated above, polysaccharides are the most abundant biomaterials on earth, yet many of the molecular details of their biosynthesis and function are not generally well known. Hyaluronic acid or HA is a linear polysaccharide of the glycosaminoglycan class and is composed of up to thousands of β(1,4)GlcUA-β(1,3)GlcNAc repeats. In vertebrates, HA is a major structural element of the extracellular matrix and plays roles in adhesion and recognition. HA has a high negative charge density and numerous hydroxyl groups, therefore, the molecule assumes an extended and hydrated conformation in solution. The viscoelastic properties of cartilage and synovial fluid are, in part, the result of the physical properties of the HA polysaccharide. HA also interacts with proteins such as CD44, RHAMM, and fibrinogen thereby influencing many natural processes such as angiogenesis, cancer, cell motility, wound healing, and cell adhesion.
There are numerous medical applications of HA. For example, HA has been widely used as a viscoelastic replacement for the vitreous humor of the eye in ophthalmic surgery during implantation of intraocular lenses in cataract patients. HA injection directly into joints is also used to alleviate pain associated with arthritis. Chemically cross-linked gels and films are also utilized to prevent deleterious adhesions after abdominal surgery. Other researchers using other methods have demonstrated that adsorbed HA coatings also improve the biocompatibility of medical devices such as catheters and sensors by reducing fouling and tissue abrasion.
HA is also made by certain microbes that cause disease in humans and animals. Some bacterial pathogens, namely Gram-negative Pasteurella multocida Type A and Gram-positive Streptococcus Group A and C, produce an extracellular HA capsule which protects the microbes from host defenses such as phagocytosis. Mutant bacteria that do not produce HA capsules are 102- and 103-fold less virulent in comparison to the encapsulated strains. Furthermore, the Paramecium bursaria Chlorella virus (PBCV-1) directs the algal host cells to produce a HA surface coating early in infection.
The various HA synthases (“HAS”), the enzymes that polymerize HA, utilize UDP-GlcUA and UDP-GlcNAc sugar nucleotide precursors in the presence of a divalent Mn, Mg, or Co ion to polymerize long chains of HA. The HA chains can be quite large (n=102 to 104). In particular, the HASs are membrane proteins localized to the lipid bilayer at the cell surface. During HA biosynthesis, the HA polymer is transported across the bilayer into the extracellular space. In all HASs, a single species of polypeptide catalyzes the transfer of two distinct sugars. In contrast, the vast majority of other known glycosyltransferases transfer only one monosaccharide.
Chondroitin is one of the most prevalent glycosaminoglycans (GAGS) in vertebrates as well as part of the capsular polymer of Type F P. multocida, a minor fowl cholera pathogen. This bacterium produces unsulfated chondroitin (16), but animals possess sulfated chondroitin polymers. The first chondroitin synthase from any source to be molecularly cloned was the P. multocida pmCS (DeAngelis and Padgett-McCue, 2000). The pmCS contains 965 amino acid residues and is about 90% identical to pmHAS. A soluble recombinant Escherichia coli-derived pmCS1-704 catalyzes the repetitive addition of sugars from UDP-GalNAc and UDP-GlcUA to chondroitin oligosaccharide acceptors in vitro.
Heparosan [N-acetylheparosan], (-GlcUA-β1,4-GlcNAc-α1,4-), is the repeating sugar backbone of the polysaccharide found in the capsule of certain pathogenic bacteria as well as the biosynthetic precursor of heparin or heparan sulfate found in animals from hydra to vertebrates. In mammals, the sulfated forms bind to a variety of extremely important polypeptides including hemostasis factors (e.g., antithrombin III, thrombin), growth factors (e.g., EGF, VEGF), and chemokines (e.g., IL-8, platelet factor 4) as well as the adhesive proteins for viral pathogens (e.g., herpes, Dengue fever). Currently, heparin is extracted from animal tissue and used as an anticoagulant or antithrombotic drug. In the future, similar polymers and derivatives should also be useful for pharmacological intervention in a variety of pathologic conditions including neoplasia and viral infection.
Several enzyme systems have been identified that synthesize heparosan. In bacteria, either a pair of two separate glycosyltransferases (Escherichia coli KfiA and KfiC) or a single glycosyltransferase (Pasteurella multocida PmHS1 or PmHS2; (30, 47)) have been shown to polymerize heparosan; the enzymes from both species are homologous at the protein level. In vertebrates, a pair of enzymes, EXT 1 and EXT 2, that are not similar to the bacterial systems appear to be responsible for producing the repeating units of the polymer chain which is then subsequently modified by sulfation and epimerization.
The heparosan synthases from P. multocida possess both a hexosamine and a glucuronic acid transfer site in the same polypeptide chain, as shown by mutagenesis studies (Kane, T. A. et. al, J. Biol. Chem. 2006), and are therefore referred to as “dual-action” or bifunctional glycosyltransferases. These enzymes are complex because they employ both an inverting and a retaining mechanism when transferring the monosaccharide from UDP precursors to the non-reducing terminus of a growing chain. The two Pasteurella heparosan synthases, PmHS1 and PmHS2, are approximately 70% identical at the amino acid sequence level. The two genes are found in different regions of the bacterial chromosome: PmHS1 (hssA) is associated with the prototypical Gram-negative Type II carbohydrate biosynthesis gene locus but PmHS2 (hssB) resides far removed in an unspecialized region. As shown in the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s), these catalysts have useful catalytic properties that may be harnessed by the hand of man.
Biomaterials (loosely defined as compounds or assemblies that are used to augment or substitute for components of natural tissues or body parts) are and will continue to be integral components of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine approaches. Complex procedures including transplants and stem cell therapies promise to enhance human health, but limited supplies of donor organs/tissues and the steep learning curves (as well as ethical debates) for pioneering approaches are obstacles. There is a growing demand for more routine applications of biomaterials, such as in reconstructive surgery, cosmetics, and medical devices. Therefore, there is a need in the art for new and improved biomaterials that may be used, for example but not by way of limitation, for dermal filler applications and for surface coatings for implanted devices.
Hyaluronan (HA), poly-L-lactic acid (poly[lactide]), calcium hydroxyapatite, and collagen based products dominate the current market for biomaterials utilized in reconstructive surgery and cosmetic procedures. However, these products have a number of undesirable properties for which manufacturers and healthcare professionals are seeking improvements. These disadvantages include, but are not limited to, limited lifetime, potential for immunogenicity and/or allergenicity, and non-natural appearance in aesthetic procedures. For enhancing biocompatibility and durability of an implanted device, HA, heparin, bovine serum albumin, pyrolytic carbon, or lipid coatings are employed to enhance biocompatibility of stents, catheters, and other implanted material devices. However, then products often cause fouling, clogging, or thrombus formation due to reactivity with the human body. Therefore, there is a need in the art for new and improved biomaterial compositions that overcome the disadvantages and defects of the prior art.
The presently claimed and disclosed inventive concept(s) overcomes the disadvantages and defects of the prior art. The presently claimed and disclosed inventive concept(s) is based on a biomaterial comprising heparosan, the natural biosynthetic precursor of heparin and heparan sulfate. This composition has numerous characteristics that provide improvements and advantages over existing products. While heparosan is very similar to HA and heparin, the molecule has greater stability within the body since it is not the natural final form of this sugar and therefore the body has no degradation enzymes or binding proteins that lead to loss of functionality. This property also reduces biofouling, infiltration, scarring and/or clotting. Heparosan is also more hydrophilic than synthetic coatings such as plastics or carbon. Finally, aside from bacterial HA, most other current filler biomaterials are typically animal-derived, which causes concern for side effects such as allergic reactions or stimulating granulation, and such side effects will not be a concern with the presently claimed and disclosed inventive concept(s).